For users

Introduction: Stardict dictionaries are versatile and easy to use with a number of programs on a variety of devices. This project focuses on making available Indian language dictionaries in this format and enabling their easy installation and use.

Dictionaries

• We collect and offer several dictionaries (including those prepared elsewhere). A complete list of dictionary indices is here (and, mirrored with some delay here). This includes:
• These include:
• stardict-sanskrit project - see these tars.MD files.
• stardict-kannada project : - see these tars.MD files. Announcement here.
• stardict-pali project: See dictionary archive links in tars.MD. Announcement here.
• stardict-hindi.
• stardict-telugu.
• stardict-tamil.
• And others
• 
  

How to install and use dictionaries on your device?

• Overview:
• install the dictionaries on your device (easy with Stardict Dictionary Installer app on android)
• install a dictionary app (see recommendations and notes below).
• Installation is very simple in most cases!
• Android:
• If you have Android 5.0+, you can use this Stardict Dictionary Installer app to install some common dictionaries in one shot. ( I am aware that lower android versions have problems.)
• Ratings certificate: here.
• Code for this is available for any one to copy and modify here. (May a 1000 apps bloom!) If you want to contribute new dictionaries to the stardict-sanskrit project, that is welcome too.
• On some phones, this app crashes. A fix is not known. (Error profile here.) Consider using https://github.com/nangia/pydictupdater instead.
• On general Android devices, use https://github.com/nangia/pydictupdater .
• Still having trouble despite the above? Further workaround tips (if they are necessary) for Android are in this email.
• Desktop computer
• In windows: SanskritDictionariesInstaller.jar (github source)
• You could just use the instructions analogous to the ones supplied here.
• Or you can use https://github.com/nangia/pydictupdater
• Instructions from aupAsana.com here.
• Recommendations for dictionary apps
• Android:
• Goldendict (paid): here.
• Free alternatives:
• com.twn.ebdic lalitAlAlita strongly endorses this [link].
• colordict.
• Cannot handle dict.dz files without uncompressing. Slightly higher rate of error reports from this app.
• Goldendict free
• The number of active dictionaries is limited to 5. Buy the paid version for ad-free unlimited dictionaries experience.
• DictAide (play store)
• Ad supported.
• Poor unicode support, rather clunky as of 2017.
  
• Desktop computers: Goldendict.
• In Linux, you can do:
  
• sudo apt-get install goldendict
• In mac -
• use 0.8 dmg.
• Note from ajita: 'The one problem I have with that version is that if I leave it running in the background, and allow the laptop to go to sleep, it crashes. So, I typically exit out of goldendict once I'm done with it.'
• Use the native dictionary app after some conversion (DictUnifier) [BVP13].
• There are so many dictionary apps. What is the advantage of using this system?
• Usually dictionary apps carry one dictionary, perhaps 5 at most. This system brings many more (40+) dictionaries in one single app.
• So, a user can easily see the descriptions of a word in a dozen dictionaries one below the other.
• Also, both devanAgarI and latin-based scripts are supported for lookups (sometimes even others, like telugu).

Flashcards

• Flashcards for use with opensource, multi-platform anki software: अत्र च अत्र।
• Import from csv - first field; second field; tags
• Can use <br> for newlines, select appropriate option while importing.
• Manual.
• Quizlet Sanskrit.

Feedback

• BVP201702
  

Plans

• Make new dictionaries
• DSAL कोशाः
  
• Monier williams : sanskrit terms in entries.
• ChandaH
• alankArAH
• हिन्दी-कोशाः
• wiktionary
• कन्नड-कोशः
• wiktionary
• kittel
• पद-साधुता-कोशः from DCS।
  
• Others from IITS Koeln here.
• pALI devanAgarI dictionaries.
• GOI bhAratavANI here.
• संस्कृतम्
• अमरकोशः
• बहुभाषा-अमरकोशः अत्र।
• अजितस्य हिन्दी-अमर-कोशः।
• तिरुपतिस्थ-राष्ट्रियसंस्कृतविद्यापीठस्य प्रकाशनानि अत्र।
• ए​वं प्र​त्येकस्याऽपि शब्दस्य व्याकरण-विशेषप्रदर्शकास् स्युः कोशाः।
• कश्चित् स्वकोशे 'जक्ष्'धातुं पश्यतीति चिन्त्यताम्। यदि तत्क्षणं सः अदादिगणे धातुरयं जक्षाद्यन्तर्गने पाठित इति सूच्यते, शुद्धप्रयोगे तल् लाभाय। अथवा कश्चित् 'अन्य'-शब्दपरीक्षको ज्ञाप्यते चेत् 'सर्वादिगणे दृश्यते शब्दोऽयम्' इति, पुनस् स एव लाभः।
• मनीषस्य संस्कृत-कोशाः।
• संस्कृत-कन्नड-कोशः। (अर्जुनेन चर्च्यते।)
• संस्कृतभारती-प्रकाशनानि
• rAmAyaNa-vyAkhyA-koshaH itaH.
• Sanskrit picture dictionary. (Useful in producing illustrated versions of kAvya-s.)
• Ayurveda
• e-nighaNTu koshas here. (copy pasting complete chapters, do minor processing to get prAtipadika-s)
• Future
• gAndhArI dictionary (' Once it is complete and correct (a goal we hope to achieve in the next few years), we will publish it under a Creative Commons license that will allow redistribution.')
• DSAL ('We are preparing apps for some of the Hindi and other dictionaries under new grant funding. But the Hindi Shabdasagar is under a license which does not permit production of a mobile version.')
• sandic DP here.
• Fix defects
• mAdhavIya-dhAtu-vRtti etc. [Details here]
• Package dictionaries better
• For linux
• For Android
• Provide an online interface.

Spell checking

• Spell checking dictionaries
• in several Indian languages: hunspell here
  
• hindi-hunspell (includes sanskrit) .
• hindI wiki list here .
  
• hunspell
• intro - suares.
• dic file
• format: numwords in first non-comment line, followed by sorted word lines.
  
• affix file
• 
  
• aspell supposedly stopped development in 2011, while hunspell is used in multiple products like chrome and firefox.
  

For makers

Wiki downloading

• Catscan here.

Dictionary making tips

• Technique to create stardict files
• From TSV or babylon source files (and back) using stardict-editor
• stardict.org (IMG).
• Starting off a babylon source format is the best.
• Other useful tools: babylon, tabfile, dictzip, dictunzip, dictconv (manual) . Note tabfile in v 3.0.1 has trouble with duplicate entries in tsvfile. 3.0.5 works fine (need to build and use separately).
• On the format
• babylon source format (gls file):
• [blank line]
Term Alternate1 Alternate2 .. AlternateK
Definition
[blank line]
Term Alternate1 Alternate2 .. AlternateK
Definition
[blank line]
..
• <a href='bword://next'>next</a>
• Special formatting
• In TSV file, newline is n.
• In Babylon source file, newline is <br>
• stardict format[Full details here]:
• Toy dictionary here.
• stardict-index stardict-test/stardict-test.idx
• syn file format here, here. Example - stardict-test.syn.
• simidic wiki screenshot, stardict-tools list.
• Monodix (dix) format (use with lttoolbox)
• basics here. Abbreviations here.
• Stardict parsers
• java. (no syn file support as of 2017)
  
• Stardict dictionaries elsewhere:
• aupAsana.com collection (with very useful installation / usage tips) : here. Further tips for Linux and Android here.
• sanskrit.infria.fr here.

General guidelines

• Never reinvent the wheel - for example, if you can exploit preexisting dictionary format software, don't waste time writing a new one. Same with dictionaries.
• Always publish and maintain the dictionary sources in some simple form parseable by both humans and machines, so that you can make/ accept corrections; and people can transform it easily into whatever format they're comfortable with - say text or html files or stardict or babylon.
• When you make dictionaries out of certain published sources (such as IITS Koeln), please do so with (I'd suggest python or scala) scripts which can be reused to update the stardict/ babylon files when the source files are updated with corrections. That is - don't do it manually in a text editor.